The Overmind had no idea that the Necron Dynasty he had stumbled upon was one of the top three most powerful among their kind.
The Maynarkh Dynasty.
While ranking Necron Dynasties by strength isn't always precise, the Maynarkh were the loyal servants of the Silent King—his right and left hands.
However, they were not well-liked. The Maynarkh Dynasty was responsible for the total destruction of the C'tan Llandu'gor, the Flayer. In his final moments, the dying Star God cursed the Maynarkh, infecting them with his own insatiable hunger for life. Thus, the Flayer Virus was born within this dynasty.
This made the Maynarkh the most dangerous Necron Dynasty to intelligent organic life. When the Flayer curse takes hold, their hunger for flesh and blood exceeds even that of the Swarm.
The only saving grace was...
The female Necron leading this fleet was not the Phaerakh of the Maynarkh Dynasty, Xun'bakyr, but rather an Overlord. This planet was not the Dynasty's crown world, but merely one of many Tomb Worlds.
"This is going to be a problem. Regardless of which dynasty this fleet belongs to, they won't be easy to fight."
For an Overmind who could trade blows with over eight thousand Bloodthirsters to find the Necrons "difficult" speaks volumes about how troublesome they are.
Fighting them felt like fighting a Purifier-version of the Protoss. Whether in combat style, transportation, or hierarchy, the two were remarkably similar.
Even worse, this "Purifier Protoss" fleet was absurdly powerful. Due to the wars they fought sixty million years ago, the Necrons maintained a massive fleet with technology that stood leagues above the Imperium.
The thought of a Leviathan fleet engaging Necron ships suggested heavy losses were inevitable.
Necron Gauss weaponry was a hard counter to the Zerg. A single hit usually meant death. The Gauss energy at the impact zone deconstructed matter at a molecular level; the hardness of Zerg chitin meant nothing. Furthermore, the effect spread.
If an Ultralisk were hit, the wound would expand within hours to a point the beast could not survive. Regenerative abilities were meaningless in the face of Gauss energy.
Unless the wounded area was amputated immediately, the unit was doomed. But while you can cut off a hit hand or foot, what do you do if you're hit in the chest?
Therefore, the only way to deal with Gauss weapons was not to get hit...
"Dammit, talk about a high bar." Gauss weapons were merely the basic armament of the Necrons. Even larger Canoptek constructs carried more than one, to say nothing of their other dark technologies.
These were the people who defeated the Star Gods.
Whether the Overmind wanted to fight or not, the Necron fleet was already in motion. Numerous bolts of green lightning struck down from the heavens, each carrying enough energy to easily vaporize a unit of Ultralisk caliber.
These were ship-based weapons with calibers larger than the Ultralisks themselves. Zergling swarms were reduced to green dust upon the slightest contact. Hydralisks and Spore Crawlers attempted to retaliate, but their efforts were futile.
Necron ships were forged from Living Metal, which possessed self-repairing capabilities. This made them far more durable than Imperial vessels. Continuous low-damage attacks were nothing more than an itch to a Necron ship.
Only concentrated, massive bursts of damage—like the main batteries of a Protoss Tempest or Carrier—could destroy a Necron vessel in a short time.
"I need a massive volume of fire to suppress them, but the Necrons won't let the Swarm cluster together."
The moment Mutalisks gathered in significant numbers, Necron Gauss fire would sweep through them, posing a catastrophic threat to the flock.
"Fine. Send in the Scourges!"
There is a saying in the Swarm: if you're stuck on the ground, use Ultralisks; if you're stuck in the air, use Scourges.
In hidden corners of the planet, Drones began morphing into Scourge Nests. These living plasma torpedoes began to hatch in rapid succession. The rest of the Swarm acted as a distraction to draw Necron fire.
Soon, the Scourges reached critical mass. Propelled by their internal organs, they shot toward the Necron fleet like arrows released from a bow.
"Hmm?"
If only solving a Necron fleet were that simple.
Before the Scourge swarms could impact, the Necron ships released a violent burst of energy, detonating every Scourge within a ten-mile radius prematurely. The Overmind nearly cursed aloud.
"Blast!"
Scourges were too fragile, making them easy to pick off before they reached their targets.
"I need more troops. The current Swarm on this planet isn't enough to handle the Necrons."
Thousands of Leviathans in the Tiamat system began to move. However, the Overmind would not commit the entire fleet. He dispatched only one hundred Leviathans for the initial skirmish.
If these hundred Leviathans were wiped out too quickly, the Overmind would simply choose to withdraw and stop fighting the Necrons.
There was no shame in it. Just as the Overmind in StarCraft I would not head-on crash into the Protoss Golden Armada, only a fool would force a fight they knew they couldn't win.
Then again, a truly "smart" leader wouldn't even send the hundred Leviathans. They would simply leave the Necrons alone, as this barren planet wasn't that important.
Knowing that a Tomb World sat beneath the surface, fleeing was a perfectly valid choice, even if the surface was rich in biomass.
But running without a single blow wasn't the Zerg way.
"Attack!"
The Overmind personally commanded the battle. One hundred Leviathans passed through the Webway gates within the system, appearing near the Tomb World.
"Oh?"
Inside the Cairn-class Tomb Ship, a Necron Cryptek holding an ornate staff sensed the usage of a nearby Webway route. Necrons could also utilize the Webway, often more efficiently than the modern Eldar.
"Strange. The Webway route was used, but not by those Aeldari?"
The Cryptek's hand brushed over his instruments, and a projection of the Leviathan fleet gathering at the Webway gate appeared. His tone shifted to one of genuine surprise.
"What? These bugs can use the Webway?!"
This awakening was proving to be quite confusing. It was as startling as waking up to find that cockroaches had learned how to fly fighter jets.
"Do they have a connection to the Old Ones?"